Curious – Episode 20

Adanna was sitting on the side of her bed with a nurse holding her while a doctor checked her.

“You are lucky” he said

“You think? I feel like my body has been dragged on the floor for hours”

“But you don’t have any visible injuries tho we are still waiting on the results from your scan to ascertain if you are okay “

“What about my friends”

“Well,like I said you are lucky,one of the ladies that came in with you is dead,the other one is yet to regain consciousness tho her injuries are not that extreme,she has bruises and her knee had to be operated on. For the
men that came in with you are not so lucky their injuries include concussion, ruptured spleen,collapsed lungs,lacerations around the head and face,bruising in the rib and chest area tho they had successful surgeries
but they are not in good shape.

” I will like to see them…please”

“That can be arranged but it will be after your nap,so please rest for a bit and later you can go and see your friends.” The doctor and the nurse help her to stretch out on the bed.

*****Months later *********

The past weeks were bittersweet for Adanna. She discovered Zee had died on the spot. Susan had regain consciousness and had been discharged. Adams too
had been discharged tho he still needed a cane to walk. Thomas on the hand was not so lucky he,from the accident he had sustained traumatic brain injury or like the doctor explained to her an acquired brain injury which had been caused by impact on his head from the accident.

Because of his injury the frontal and temporal lobes of his brain and the major speech and language areas were damaged and these resulted in communication difficulty for him. He also could not walk nor balance himself and had coordination difficulties. He had chronic pains including headaches,fatigue and sleep difficulties. It was difficult for her anytime she was in room, keeping him company. Just watching him lie there and thinking about the way he used to be,how full of life he was and all the plans he future and his dreams made her so sad. The doctor had earlier told her they was little they could do but can only hope for the best.

She had never prayed as much as she did these past few weeks. She always prayed for a miracle to come,to bring Thomas back to the promising young man he used to be. A miracle did happen but it wasn’t the one she had hoped for, Thomas had died in his sleep the
night before. She felt bad but was consoled in the fact that he wouldn’t go through all those pains anymore and she was sure that wherever his soul was that it was in peace.

They had a quiet burial for him and it was just Adanna,Adams,Susan and Kylie that were in attendance. Adams had even dedicated his showcase to Thomas and every proceed from that night had been given to a charity that is involved with Acquired brain injuries. Adanna had also written a piece on it on her blog to raise awareness amongst her readers.

Samuel was watching football while drinking his tenth beer for that day when the doorbell rang. The maid ran to get the door and ushered Susan in. He looked up at her,hissed and returned his focus to his football match.

“Hey sis welcome,you came a right time just some few minutes and the food will be ready” Kylie hugged her

“Hope the food will be sweet?” She asked

“Sure thing,lemme check on the food”

“Wait lemme come with you,we can gist as you dish the food”

“Okay” they both walked to kitchen and Kylie focused on watching the food while Susan leaned on the counter

“Have you ever thought about walking away?”

“Walking away from what?”

“This sham you call a marriage”

“Who told you that and why will I want out?”

“You tell me,am not stupid you know,I have noticed the way you shy from family gatherings and I have also noticed that my sister who always found the slightest reason to strip or be half Unclad, all of a sudden wear long sleeves even when its a hundred degrees and let’s not talk about….”

“Am now a mother, I can’t be dressing like I used to”

“Don’t tell me that crap,you are just in denial like every other woman who is being abused. If you won’t leave for yourself then leave do it for your son”

“Susan can we not talk about this right now” she started dishing the food into plates.

“Then when are we going to talk about it? Is that Samuel’s food?” Pointing at a plate in front of her “Lemme take it to him” she offered

“With the mood you are in,hell no,I will take it myself” she picked the plate and walked out “Susan please get a beer from the fridge for me” she called out. Susan took the drink,opened it and took it to them. The maid
arranged the table and Kylie,Susan and little Sam ate together. After the meal,Susan insisted on taking them out and also asked the maid to join them,they left Samuel at home with his drink and the television.

Kylie couldn’t remember the last time,she had this much fun. They had gone to the park and it had been real interesting,especially watching little Sam take his first steps. It was almost getting dark,so they decided to return home,since they all came in Susan’s car,she drove them back. No sooner had they entered before she heard the maid scream from the sitting room and
they ran there only to find Samuel slumped on the ground with foam by the side of his mouth. They quickly rushed him to a nearby hospital but he pronounced dead on arrival.

Adanna walked into Susan’s office. “Hey you madam”

“Hey Adanna,how are you doing?” She walked around her desk to hug her

“Am fine” she said and took a seat while Susan returned to her desk

“So what brings you to my boring office, I swear I can count on one hand the number of times you have been here”

“Just checking on you,how are you and how was the burial?”

“Am fine,the burial was okay and my sister is doing just fine tho I must admit its more good riddance than sorrow for any of my family member”

“Am sure and I believe they should have you thank for that”

“Errm, I don’t understand”

“Susan there is no need to pretend with me,I have lived and known Samuel for a long time and the reason for his death don’t add up plus there is also the fact that the woman who crashed your marriage also died in a similar fashion”

“That’s just coincidence”

“Yeah it could be but I no better than that and no am not judging you,lord knows if I had half your heart I probably would have done worst. I just want to thank you for ridding the world of two scumbags. There is a part of
me that wants to know how you did it but I will rather not know”

“Are you sure about that? Not that I am admitting to anything just so you know”

“Yes am sure,tho I wonder how ex husband is still alive”

“Oh,he was enough not to eat or drink anything from me. Not that I do anything to that foods and drinks I give to people,just so we are clear”

Adanna chuckled “I will remember not to consume anything from you anytime I piss you off” she stood up “I guess I will see you around” and walked out.

Susan watched her leave and smiled,the one thing all this disasters had done for her was to give her a best friend and sometimes she felt like she had known Adanna all her life.
Adanna climbed into her car still laughing with herself. Her life so far has definitely been a journey, so many ups and downs but looking at it right now,she doubt she will change a thing. She glanced at her ring finger
where the beautiful engagement ring Adams had proposed to her with shone. She didn’t want a big wedding this time around and she needed to hasten
things up because her visit to her doctor last week confirmed that she was six weeks pregnant. She hoped the baby will be a boy so she can call him Thomas. So many things to wish and hope for but for now she is thankful and just living in the moment.

She doesn’t know what the future might throw at her but she is damn sure that she is ready and strong enough for anything. She put her key in the ignition and started the car and drove away from all the sorrows and darkness into the promise of light and love.

THE END

Paula Keyne says:I wrote this book to throw light on emotional abuse. Its really ignored and most times the victims don’t even know that they are being abused. It leads to low self esteem and dependency on another person. The funny thing about abuse is that even when you realise you are being abused,if you are not ready mentally and physically you will still remain with your abuser,sometimes you even leave but you return back to that person. Its not because you are weak its probably because you are yet to reach that breaking point or probably because you don’t have a strong support system like Adanna had with Adams. Lets try to be patient with people we know that are being abused. You can tell them about the dangers and all but don’t try to rush them because if they are not ready to leave then nothing will make them change their stance and when you pressure them too much,they become defensive and shut you out